My wife Susan and I picked up our two grandsons and their little sister, a 4-year-old, at their home in Illinois and brought them back to our place in Jefferson City, Mo., for four nights last week. The boys are almost 9 and nearly 12, by the way.

We like it that they become excited anticipating their visits with us. We’re not the only Missouri attractions for them. They get to spend time with their uncle, our 11-year-old Sheltie and our year-old Golden Retriever. Our Golden is still mastering commands like “sit,” “drop” (when she finds a sock or toy she’s been caught carrying around), “stay,” “place” and others. At times, two or three of the kids were shouting out different instructions at the same time.

I was at a Baptist meeting a couple of weeks ago, rooming with a former colleague from another state for the two nights I was in Atlanta. Greg told me he had become a fan of the World Cup soccer competition in progress, especially since the United States team was still in the running.

I must confess that I was certainly interested in how the American team fared but I also confess that I had not become much of a fan of the most popular team sport in the world.

My father, Robert Webb, died unexpectedly on Nov. 8, 1988, at the age of 61. Dad had been disabled by a heart condition years earlier, but his first heart attack and death took my mother, two sisters, brother and me by surprise. He died within 24 hours of suffering the attack.

The recent news of the shooting death of Associated Press journalist Anja Niedringhaus in Afghanistan and the wounding in the same attack of fellow AP journalist Kathy Gannon struck a nerve with me.

The two women were traveling in a convoy in March delivering election materials on the eve of the recent presidential election in Afghanistan when an Afghan police officer opened fire on the women after the convoy arrived at its destination. They were still sitting in a car at the entrance to a police station.

Easter is the signature day on the Christian calendar. Two thousand years ago, prophecy was fulfilled in the resurrection of Jesus from a Jerusalem tomb. More important, Christ fulfilled the purpose of God in redeeming sinful humanity.

Occasionally in evangelical or broader Protestant life, we hear of a pastor or bishop who has the means to maintain a luxurious lifestyle — and chooses to live that way. Often, he (or she) also has a successful television presence.

When a news story was posted a few days ago about Atlanta Archbishop Wilton Gregory’s construction of a $2.2 million mansion for himself in an upscale area of the city, it certainly didn’t seem to fit with a body of clergy well known for taking vows of poverty.

I read with interest the account of the installation of Mercer University Professor Richard Wilson as the sixth president of Liberia Baptist Theological Seminary a couple of weeks ago.

Liberia is the West African country whose southern coast borders the Atlantic Ocean; it was a nation built by former American slaves, who envisioned a “land of the freed,” if you will. It was a relatively quiet place until almost 35 years ago when a coup d’état launched a bitter and bloody civil war. The past 10 years have been marked by what some observers call a “tenuous peace.”